Fertile Myrtle

The next week for Nikki was especially difficult. She was recuperating from surgery, and waiting for her hormones to level back out. We were now playing the waiting game. She had to have two normal cycles before trying IUI again.

In order to successfully do IUI, we must have the following happen:
-Nikki must ovulate on a weekday
-the donor must be able to miss work
-Nikki must have a back-up tech @ work
-hopefully ovulation doesn't occur on the doctor's surgery day

Needless to say, there are many factors that go into it. It's a process, but one that's well worth it.

I've been reading several other lesbian couple's blogs about their journeys. It has made me realize that we are not alone, and many women have been trying to conceive for a lot longer than us, and have gone through IUI and IVF several times with no success. One story I read about journals a couple, who like us, have been together almost seven years. As I read her blog, so much of their story is relatable. She had a "baby born sleeping" at. 38 weeks. Then they successfully had a little girl that's almost a year old. Plus, her partner is due to give birth to a boy in February. I know that no matter the gestational age of a baby, you still feel the loss. But, I can't imagine getting to 38 weeks, that's practically full-term, and going in for an ultrasound only to find out that his heart is no longer beating. There was no cause found to explain his death. Another couple have been doing this for four years. Every month, with the exception of a couple two month breaks, have done IUI and IVF. I ask myself, "What if that's us, what if we have to try for months, even years?" The past year has been a tough one. Can we go through that over and over? The answer: yes. We want a family! We want babies running around our house. We want sleepless nights, round-the-clock feedings, continuous loads of laundry, having to share our bed, running after toddlers, and everything else that comes along with being parents.

This past Monday was an important day for us. Since Nikki's cycle started last Friday, she would have to begin taking the fertility drug, Clomid, on Wednesday. The Clomid helps to produce eggs, but studies have shown that it also improves the quality of the eggs as well. There is a risk of multiples, but we would love as many as we can have. Before starting the medicine, Nikki's ovaries and uterus had to be checked for cysts by ultrasound. At the ultrasound on Monday, the tech said everything looked great. It all looked as it should. She appeared to have a healthy uterus. Both of her ovaries contained several follicles with lots of eggs. To quote the tech, "You should be Fertile Myrtle!"

Written by Barbara